Weiner Won't Rule Out a Run

Former Rep. Anthony Weiner, who resigned last year amid an Internet sex scandal, says in a new magazine interview that he hasn't ruled out the possibility of running for public office someday.

"I can't say absolutely that I will never run for public office again, but I'm very happy in my present life," Mr. Weiner told People magazine for the issue coming out this week. "I'm not doing anything to plan a campaign."

ENLARGE

Former Rep. Anthony Weiner in 2009.
Associated Press

Mr. Weiner stepped down from Congress after at first denying and then admitting he sent sexually explicit photos on Twitter to a number of women. Although several recent media stories suggested he is exploring the possibility of a 2013 campaign for mayor or another citywide office, Mr. Weiner denied those reports on Monday, telling The Wall Street Journal, "It's a clown story, bro."

Still, by inviting a magazine reporter and photographer into their Manhattan home, Mr. Weiner and his wife, Huma Abedin, a top aide to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, appear determined to rebuild Mr. Weiner's image.

The story features a portrait of the smiling couple with Mr. Weiner holding their 6-month-old son, Jordan. In another photo, Mr. Weiner, 47 years old, has Jordan slung over his right shoulder.

"I'm proud to be married to him," Ms. Abedin told the magazine. "My husband did a really stupid thing. It was an extremely painful time. But there was love and a commitment to this marriage."

Ms. Abedin teared up when she spoke of the photographers who continue to pursue them. "It took a lot of work to get where we are today, but I want people to know we're a normal family," she said.

Mr. Weiner said he has "enormous regrets" about what he put his wife through and how he let his constituents down. "But it's not like I sit all day replaying it in my mind," he said. "With a baby, it is pretty easy to put things into perspective."

The former congressman said "things happen for a reason" and he even described 2011 as the "best year of my life." Jordan was born in December.

Mr. Weiner acknowledged he sought professional counseling but declined to provide any details, other than to say it helped. "Anthony has spent every day since then trying to be the best dad and husband he can be," Ms. Abedin said.

In 2005, Mr. Weiner unsuccessfully ran for mayor, finishing second in the Democratic primary. He chose not to run for mayor in 2009 against Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who won a third term that year, but Mr. Weiner was widely expected to be a front-runner in next year's race for City Hall.

He still has a substantial campaign war chest of $4.5 million, according to recently released filings.

These days, Mr. Weiner is responsible for doing all of his family's laundry, the magazine reported. He has done some paid consulting from home, but he's mostly kept a low profile.

"I really do feel like a very different person," he said, noting how the scandal served as a "winnowing" of the "legions of people" whom he considered "friends."

Mr. Weiner mostly seemed intent on demonstrating he's happy. "I'm not watching C-SPAN3 in the middle of the night, regretting how my life has turned out," he said.

Meanwhile, on the Senate floor in Washington, D.C., Sen. John McCain on Wednesday defended Ms. Abedin from unsubstantiated allegations by Rep. Michele Bachmann and several others that Ms. Abedin is part of a conspiracy by the Muslim Brotherhood to infiltrate top levels of the federal government. Ms. Abedin is Muslim; Mr. Weiner is Jewish.

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